Zahid’s Blog

Hi Everybody

Hope you are all well. If you have any useful information or tips that relate to any of the posts on the blog, please do post a comment to let everybody else know.

So how do you know if your eBay listing is any good, or how do you go about constructing it.

Well I think one of the first things to do would be to look at the market you are looking  to sell into and see whats going on.

Why?

Well you can’t always construct a good listing from scratch! Sometimes you need a bit of creative inspiration to get the mental juices flowing.

You can only really determine what to say by looking at what other sellers are saying or doing……at least that’s the case in markets where you’re trying to introduce something new and different, or at the very least its a starting point to help create a listing even if you are in an established market.
 
How do you make your offerings on eBay stand out from the masses?

Well, one of the best places to start is not always necessarily looking at the product - it’s looking at the market, and seeing what gaps there are, and where you could possibly ’slot’ something in….taking advantage of a niche.

Only a few words today as a bit busy working on my next ebook project but what I have mentioned is well worth thinking about for whatever product you are thinking of selling. I would stress though always give your potential customers a quality product at a competitive price, so you get repeat business and you establish a good reputation.

Have fun,

Zahid

Hello Everybody

Hope you are liking the posts to the blog so far, if you have any idea’s etc please do post a comment.

Have you ever come across or even received stuff that claims to make you a millionaire in 6 months…I am pretty sure you probably have at some point in your life.Mmm Yes… great idea but it will probably never happen. When we read these things…deep down we know that they are not true but our minds start racing…with these wild fantasies. We think!!  what if…this time it could be true…do I really want to miss out…this could be it!!??Unfortunately the truth is that, the only way to make that much money so quickly would be to literally rob a bank!! I would say nearly 100% of this sort of stuff is false and is only about making people part with their hard earned cash, also it gives the genuine people out there a bad name.I would even say that if you get anything that makes wild claims like this…throw it into the trash can. That does not mean it is not possible to make an income by working from home. Their are plenty of ordinary people out there doing that everyday such as Ebay traders, Amazon booksellers,Importers,product developers,Information marketers,Home publishers etc..It is also fairly reasonable to assume you could earn from around $100.00 per week to $40,000 per year and you could do achieve this in a period of one to two years, in your spare time. Full time, you  would to expect to earn even more.

The key to it all of course is finding the right business for you, which enables you to sell a quality product, at a reasonable price that people want to buy and can see the benefits.Leave those crazy dreams of being an instant millionaire in 6 months etc and start small and build up your business so its bringing a regular income ..no matter how small it may be, then build on it and keep building.Hope that does not sound too down but its Real!!!Until next time.Zahid

Hi All Hope you are all well. 

A couple of days ago I got a courtesy call from bank…another words a try at trying to sell me something. As it happens they were concerned that I might get sick or have an accident…aaah!! how nice of them to be concerned But it all became clear when I got the how would I like to buy some additional cover to protect me from these unforeseen circumstance. Well I politely declined their offer as their premium for the service was 4 times as much as quotes I got from my Independent financial adviser. 

That made me think!! How often are we pushed into buying policies for insurance etc we might not even need…on the basis of the what if phobia. Well most places you might go to get a loan i.e. Bank, Building Society etc will often buy these insurance policies at quite a low prices and then sell to you at top dollar, the sales talk of how their policy is better than company ABC…But it is optional so use your discretion. 

A lot of the time you need your lawyer to give you a translation as to what the small print actually means and in some cases it results in claims not being paid out. A even more bizarre thing is that in some cases if you buy this cover from your loan provider your effective rate of interest can rise from 8%/9% to 25%. 

My financial adviser happened to mention that the office of fair trading is investigating the profits made by these instructions.  Another thing he mentioned was that you could probably save a bundle of cash if you bought this sort of cover independently and even get better policy wither wider cover. Well that’s my outlook on the subject but I would recommend getting expert advice if you need to buy any of these products, especially independent advice. 

See you all soon 

Zahid

Hi Guys

I don’t know about you but I am always having problems with my e-mail account,you know how it is you need to respond to an e-mail quickly..you go and try and login and you keep getting server error messages. So as a result of this happening on a regular basis, I set up separate e-mail accounts with separate providers…i.e 1 with my Internet service provider and 2 with online providers..the most popular  being Hotmail and another less well know e-mail provider Hushmail and there is Yahoo but there are lots more providers out there as well. I would say they are all fairly reliable….unless of course there are technical problems..Ha!! ha!!

You may not be quite as mad about e-mail as me but it pays to be prepared for the worst case scenario.. so that is why I think 3 is a good number.

Firstly I would have a main E-mail account, this would be the account you normally use with your ISP. Give the address to the people who really need it and keep it private…so do not give out on websites etc.

Then I would have a back up account using a Internet based provider,this account you could use when your main account is out of action. Also give this to people that would need to contact you urgently if they can not get you on the main account address…but tell them that it is only for back up use.

The last account would be an account you can dispose of at any time if you so wish. This would also be Internet based and you could use it for special offers, public discussion groups, and other places where you may start getting spam. If this account starts getting loads of junk emails and unwanted material you can simply close it down and open a new account. So that everything else you do is unaffected.

I hope that gives you some idea’s to get your e-mail accounts organised.

Until next time.

Zahid

.

Hi Everybody

I know if you are a parent how crucial internet use is when it concerns your children, as you just do not know when a pop up window will come up on the screen that is not suitable for viewing. There are also a lot of concerns regarding privacy and confidential  information when you are surfing.

I use software by a company called Webroot to protect my PC from the perils that are on the worldwide web. They have been around for quite a few years now and have some really great products. This is not a plug for a sale as I do not get anything for recommending their products, so the recommendation  is from  experience of using their products.

Tip 1 Talk to your child about internet safety. Try to surf the web together.

Tip 2 Be informed. Know what web sites your child visits and who they communicate with online.

Tip 3 Become Internet aware yourself. Ask your child to teach you how to use the programs they use.

Tip 4 Empower yourself. Use software available for filtering and monitoring internet use.

Tip 5 Be Vigilant at all times. Stay involved, keep a check on your childs online activity, especially as they get older. Keep your interest, conversation and rapport going with your child.

Safe and happy surfing.

Zahid

Hello

One of my hobbies is reading and I was reading one of James Allen’s lesser known books, Byways of Blessedness, he devotes the entire first chapter to beginnings. He writes, “Most beginnings are small, and appear trivial and insignificant, but in reality they are the most important things in life.”

Without a beginning you could have the greatest idea and the greatest plan in the world and you would still fail. Whereas a
modest idea and an incomplete plan often produces success when accompanied by even an “insignificant” beginning.

“Beginning” is just another way to describe the most powerful six-letter word in the vocabulary of achievers: A-C-T-I-O-N.
Hugely successful people, the kind who go from mediocre to millions almost overnight, know that the major key to their
success was taking MASSIVE ACTION. When Jeff Bezos decided to start Amazon.com, he left his job on the East Coast and headed to Washington State. He had his wife drive him and their belongings across the country so that he could stay on the
phone constantly, convincing potential investors and vendors why Amazon would be a success.

Even the smallest of actions, the ones James Allen called trivial and insignificant, can lead to great success. Sir Isaac Newton’s principle that a “body at rest tends to remain at  a body in motion tends to remain in motion,” definitely
applies to the action principle. Once you’ve taken the first step (even a baby step), the next steps seem easier to take.

So moral of the story is if you want to get to the top of the flight of stairs, you first have to get on the first step and that will only happen if you take the action to do it and then you have to continue with the process.

See you soon.

Zahid
 

Hi

Hope you are all doing well. Here are a couple of quotes I spotted that will help to get the mental process going.

A weed is but an unloved flower. – Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1850-1919, American Poet and Journalist.

We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible. – Vince Lombardi, 1913-1970, Hall of Fame American Football Coach.

What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence. – Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, English Author and Critic.

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe. – Voltaire, 1694-1778, French Writer and Philosopher

Remember this — very little is needed to make a happy life. – Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, 121-180, Roman Emperor and Philosopher

Speak to you soon.

Zahid

Hi Guys

Just a reminder to everybody!!

It’s Mother’s Day this weekend on Sunday 02 March 2008, so don’t forget that special lady in your life. Here’s a link to a gift store if you still need to buy a gift.

Regards

Zahid

If you’re into privacy and freedom, Big Brother, with his intrusive legislation, is the enemy. If you support efforts to maintain a healthy global economy, then money laundering is your enemy. Get to know them both, and you keep the power in your own hands … well, that’s the theory.Is money laundering the scapegoat that allows governments, particularly of the G8 nations, to ply, as a hidden agenda, their intrusive surveillance on Joe Citizen? This may well be, but there is also no denying that money laundering is of a scale and frequency that can seriously weaken national economies and the global economy as a whole. Throw in the human factor, bearing in mind that governments are run by humans, and not only do you have two of your major enemies facing off with each other, but there are also great possibilities, that from time to time (there have been documented allegations), members of government and money launders (such as the drug lords) have worked in cahoots with each other. Sometimes in the belief that they are aiding and abetting the national interest, and sometimes not.Yes, the whole thing stinks, but the fact remains that the more you know about money laundering and the legislation that is set up to curb it, the more likely are you to be able to avoid making mistakes that could implicate you in serious criminal offences. Have you noticed how hard it is to open a bank account these days… you want to give money to the bank but because of the money laundering laws you have to jump through the hoops…you get credit checked to put Your money in to the bank.Now I know what you are thinking..but Zahid we need these laws to protect us from the criminals. I agree we do need some laws to protect society from this element. However some aspects of the law making is getting out of hand, every time some law is passed in the interest of national security and crime etc. Life for Joe Citizien gets that little harder and is slowly eroding away his rights to privacy and freedom.Well got that off my chest…. So you see there are two sides to everything and not everything is how Big brother wants us to see it. So don’t just follow the sheep….THINK!! and have the power to change the way you live.A lot us use e-mail, is it really safe and secure…well here is a link to a service that provides free private and secure encrypted e-mail service. Check it out and see what you think.

Until next time.

Zahid

Hi Guys

Hope you are all well.

It’s Not Just About The Cash!! How often have we heard that one…!!!
 
Now I know that we all need money to live, eat and have fun but is business just about  the cash…mmm is it? 
 
The reason we’re in business is to make profits, but what good are profits without the freedom to enjoy them and use them to help our nearest and dearest?
 
In short if you want to  live the lifestyle you want, you need to set up certain systems that give you the freedom you desire. Without systems, your business will not be able to grow - unless you add employees or add contracted help.
 
lucky for us that many of the ’systems’ available to grow our businesses can be contracted out. You don’t have to hire employees. You can run a one person set up and still generate $10,000+ in sales each month - most of which is automated thanks to the Internet.
 
When you think about it.. things like overheads, such as office rent, employees and business debt are very, very bad for the health of your business. if you can, you should be avoiding debt at all costs. If you’re like me, and work from home doing Product Development and marketing…part time, then you are probably in one the best businesses in the world.
 
Your overheads are almost zero, profits are good and you can expand your business into any field simply by creating digital products.
 
Overheads and employee expenses are killing thriving convential businesses. If your business gets so large that you do need an employee or two, then that’s fine, but keep in mind that an “employee” is an “expense” … rent is an ‘expense’ too and it means less profit for you.

 Yep.. been there and done that, I had my own business with employee’s etc for a few years and in the end it was just too much and sold up and walked away….got a JOB…ha!!ha!! it just seemed a lot less hassle at the time. I work part time now and I also work from home doing Product development and marketing, definetley less stressful.
 
Also anything you add to your business should enable you to make more money, if it does not… DON’T add it.
 
As I mentioned before, being in debt is not good for you. If you are in debt now you should make every effort to get out of debt as soon as possible.
 
The most important aspect of being completely debt-free is the peace of mind you’ll have. If my business hits a slump, my
expenses are low, I could survive without really making very much money.
 
Being debt free gives you more control, freedom and security over what ever you do, for me that can only be a good thing.

Until next time.

Zahid